4.30.2013

Crosstown Pub & Grill


909 E. Ogden Ave.
Naperville, IL
630.357.9775

Parking: Free lot
Days: Daily
Times: All Night Long!
Drink Deals: Daily Specials for $5 and under!
Food Deals: Daily & Monthly Specials



Crosstown Pub & Grill has been on my radar for months due to the coupons I receive in those weekly suburban mailers.  However, it wasn’t until I checked out the amazing daily specials listed on their website that I decided Crosstown Pub was worth a visit. 

In my experience covering bars & restaurants with daily specials, it’s rare to find a day that offers something for everyone.  There is usually a beer or wine or well drinker day, and sometimes food is included.  At Crosstown Pub, they feature specials for everyone everyday!  On my Wednesday visit, the specials included:

·      1/2 Price Pizzas & Calzones
·      $4 - 24oz "Big Basterd" Domestic Drafts
·      $5 - 24oz "Big Basterd" Premium Drafts
·      $4 - Glasses of House Wine
·      $2.50 - Hamms Cans - While Supplies Last
·  $4 – “You Call It” Captain Morgan, Ketel One, Jack Daniels, Fireball Whiskey ON GAME DAYS!

The Happy Hour Tour regular Tamika & I kicked off our visit with $4 wine.  I never order wine at a pub because I fear it may be old and sour, but I had a good feeling about this place because it was packed with so many people, some who appeared to be regulars.  I received such a nice pour of sauvignon blanc that I ordered a second round.  For Tamika’s second round, she switched it up with a $4 Ketel One & cranberry because she was too happy with that price.


We were both in agreement that we would be ordering chicken wings because Crosstown Pub’s wings have been featured on local shows and The Travel Channel.  The wings are served breaded, grilled, or naked, and they come in over 30 different rubs and sauces!  I was pretty intrigued and overwhelmed with all the choices but luckily mix & matching was an option.  I finally decided on 10 breaded wings ($10.95) – 5 bacon cheddar rub, 5 bourbon sauce.  Tamika chose 5 Cajun rub, 5 chipotle mango sauce.  Some other flavors include pizza, cool ranch, and peanut butter & jelly! 



The wings were beyond amazing. I’ve been telling everyone that will listen. They are hearty sized wings, not the smaller ones that are regularly served at other restaurants.  Unfortunately, my fingers spent the better half of the evening covered in wing sauce so I didn’t get as many happy hour shots as I normally do.  Fortunately, I’ll be sure to get more when I revisit on a Thursday night for half-priced wings!

Not only are the food & drinks great at Crosstown Pub & Grill but it’s the first bar that I’ve been to in awhile where I feel that you can walk in alone and probably leave with new friends.  Men held doors for us, bartender chatted us up a bit, and people made conversation with us about the wings.  I also dug the 90’s alternative music playing from the jukebox.  It made me nostalgic for the days of my Chris Cornell obsession when my bedroom was covering with Rolling Stone & Spin magazine covers.

Be sure to check out Crosstown Pub & Grill!  The patio opens on May 1st.

-JG

Rating: 5 Martinis

Crosstown Pub and Grill on Urbanspoon

4.24.2013

Aroma Bakery Café

7373 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 850-8120
www.aromabakery.com

Parking: Valet is free for first hour ($3 after); Metered Street Parking
Days: Mon-Fri
Times: 3-6pm
Drink & Food Specials: Wide selection of $5 appetizers & cocktails

Aroma!

Aroma Bakery Café has been in JG’s (former) and my (current) hood for the last 4-5 years. Even with its close proximity and having been open for years, I’d somehow only been once before. I vaguely remembered it being good overall – nice patio seating, interesting Sunset Strip views, the food was good, but there seemed to be something that wasn’t quite right. It only took me one Happy Hour trip to remember what that was – the prices!

Inside Seating

Generally speaking, the Happy Hour deals are great; Aroma features a large selection of $5 appetizers and beverages. However, Aroma assesses a 15% service charge to every bill – no matter the size of your party or the time of day. Logically, I thought this was our waiter’s tip, but when I asked him – lo & behold, the service charge is paid directly to the restaurant and he only received any left by the customer.

In my 3-and-a-half years covering Happy Hours around LA, I can honestly not recall running across a service charge (unless it was a large party), so I was rather baffled. So were plenty of unhappy Yelpers (read their comments here). Ironically, the next week, I ran into my second service charge at Proud Bird near LAX (review coming soon) – not sure if the universe is trying to tell me something or if this is a new trend!

This is me - not comprehending the 15% service charge. But good mojito!
In any event and in fairness to Aroma, the service charge is noted on their menu. In unfairness, the menu is pretty massive and the charge is bit buried. And also - on the website, it’s noted that “In some cases a 15% gratuity will be added for groups of four or more.” They should probably change that if their printed menu says otherwise.

Not to dwell on the service charge (though it’s kind of hard not to) – the Happy Hour deals really are good. Longtime HHT friend Adbot and I feasted like kings, enjoying a number of $5 apps: 
Mozzarella Sticks
Avocado Rolls

 Feta with Grape Leaves
Labane (a sour cream-like dip served with flatbread)

Guacamole Dip (chopped guacamole served with pressed French bread)

Sweet Potato Fries

4 non-Happy Hour, but delicious macaroons ($5.98 for 4)

For drinks, we were intrigued by the name of a new drink – The Muchito, assuming it was a new Spanish style cocktail we’d never heard of. LOLzzz, not quite – it was a mojito spelled… well, differently (honestly, about half the items on the HH menu were spelled phonetically). Whatever you call ‘em, the muchitos/mojitos were delish. Adbot sampled the regular and I tried the day’s special Berry Muchito. For rounds 2 & 3, we had 2 glasses of white wine apiece at $5 a glass.

It's muchito time!!

We had a great time overall, there was a good number of other diners, our servers were nice and checked on us regularly, so we were feeling pretty happy by the end of Happy Hour (3 cocktails will do that too!). Too bad we had a bit of a rude awakening with the service charge, nothing to snap you out of a Happy Hour reverie like getting less of a good deal than you had originally thought...

C’est la vie.

--JB

Rating: 2.5 Martinis

Aroma Bakery Cafe on Urbanspoon

4.17.2013

Time Out Chicago’s Eat Out Awards


Thanks to my new friends at Chicago Blogger Network, I had the opportunity to attend Time Out Chicago’s Eat Out Awards.  Top bars and restaurants in Chicago served up food and drinks at Terzo Piano at The Art Institute of Chicago as awards were handed out throughout the evening.


Bloggers live blogging the event

 Party Time. Excellent.

While I love to eat, I was more interested in the cocktail winners than the restaurants because I’m looking for a bar that reminds me of my three west coast loves: The Woods, Bodega Wine Bar, and The Belmont


Here’s what I’ll be adding to my Happy Hour To-Do/Drink/Eat list!

Best New Bar: Scofflaw

Best New Cocktail Program: Charles Joly at The Aviary

Best New BYOB: ATK 

Best Chicago Microbrewery: Revolution Brewing

For a complete list of winners, check out Time Out Chicago’s site!

When awards weren’t being handed out, food & drink were being enjoyed by all. Here's what I sampled -

Kalbi Glazed Pork Belly Taco with Daikon Slaw

Sea Scallop “Dynamite” with Tobiko Caviar

S’mores Tart, Chocolate Custard, Marshmallow Fluff, Graham Crust

Most popular drink of the night must go to Virtue Cider. People waited in line for their drinks!

… and because balancing food, drink, and a camera on heels can be a challenge, be sure to check out event photos at Time Out Chicago! Also pick up the last print issue before they goes digital. The final copy has over 1,100 reviews of the best bars and restaurants!

Cheers! JG



4.09.2013

Zante Lounge


8888 West 159th St.
Orland Park, IL 60462
708.364.0100

Parking: Free lot
Days: Mon-Fri
Times: All Night
Drink & Food Specials: See calendar for special of the day 

After my Happy Hour adventures in the west Chicago suburbs of Naperville and Lisle, I decided to switch it up with Zante Lounge in the south suburb of Orland Park.  It’s a regular after work spot for my friend’s husband and his friends due to the great prices on food and drinks.  Zante Lounge is a sports bar with live entertainment that features a different drink and food special each weekday for under $5!



While the drink and food specials are very wallet friendly, people need to make sure to arrive before the $5 cover charge starts for the DJ & live band entertainment! None of us were clear on when the cover charge starts but Diana and I had to pay it at our 8:30pm-ish arrival on a Friday night.  In all fairness though, if there were not a cover charge, then Zante Lounge may not be able to offer such great daily specials while keeping a cool, clean bar.   

When we met up with the after work crew they were deep into the Friday $2 domestic bottle special.  Since Diana & I are not beer drinkers, we enjoyed Blue UV vodka & lemonades for $5.75; not a bad price for a regular priced drink.  We didn’t partake in the $2.95 13” pizza special, but we did order my favorite bar food, mozzarella sticks.  The drinks, food, & service were pretty good and I was especially glad that the drinks weren’t over served with ice, as some bars tend to do.



We had a good (and late!) Friday night at Zante Lounge, but I suspect that Thursday night may be the best night when it comes to deals.  Thirsty Thursday seems to have something for everyone – $3 import drafts, half-priced martinis, and half-priced appetizers. There also is no cover charge. I’d definitely be game for checking out Thursday nights… once Scandal goes into reruns.

-JG

Rating: 4 Martinis

4.04.2013

Zapatista


1703 Freedom Dr.
Naperville, IL
630.904.1703

Parking: Free lot
Days: Daily
Times: All Night Long
Drink Deals: Featured $5 Drink, every day but Friday
Food Deals: $5 Taco Dinner on Mon; All You Can Eat Fish Tacos on Fri

Zapatista is a welcome addition to the restaurant row, located near the many business parks in the Naperville/Lisle area.  Given that these business folks work normal 9-5 hours, the restaurants are smart to feature Happy Hours – see our reviews of White Chocolate Grill, Morton’s Steakhouse House, and now Zapatista – the newest Chicagoland location is an easy walk over! Happy Hour Tour regular Tamika & I checked out the new Mexican restaurant soon after its grand opening.




Like many Mexican restaurants, Zapatista features Margarita Mondays.  The margaritas are served in super large martini glasses for $5.  Now unlike other restaurants, Zapatista doesn’t just feature the basic margarita on special, but they offer strawberry, mango, pomegranate, prickly pear, raspberry, too! On other days, the margaritas cost $8 for basic flavor, additional $1 for fruity flavor.  The margaritas are good, but I would have loved to have a freshly made margarita versus the pre-made margaritas poured from a fountain. The rustic feel of the location lends itself to think fresh market ingredients, but it was good nonetheless. 



Zapatista gets the jump on Taco Tuesday by featuring their $5 taco special on Monday nights.  The taco special includes 2 tacos that can be mixed or matched with chicken, carne asada, carnitas, vegetables, or pescado.  For $5, I assumed that the special included tacos only, but it actually includes a full dinner with either rice & beans or spicy fries as a side!  I had the chicken and carne asada tacos, and I’m glad that I chose both so I could sample more than one. The chicken taco was by far better than the carne asada. The carne asada taco was all right, but it wasn’t very flavorful compared the chicken taco cooked tinga style, stewed with tomatoes and chipotle.



The service at Zapatista was welcoming and friendly.  With this being the third location to the Chicagoland area, Zapatista must be doing something right and they clearly care about their customers returning.  Case in point: I ordered my tacos without onions, but they were served with a healthy dose of onions.  The bartender insisted on getting me a fresh plate, but I wanted to eat with my friend and, opted to brush the onions off AND for this, I received a free margarita instead! Other staff talked to us as well to tell us about other daily specials, such as $5 sangria and Mexican Limonadas, in hopes of our return.

Onion issue aside, you can’t argue with the great deals and service at Zapatista.  Not only is it a good after work spot but it’s welcoming for families with a “kids eat free” special on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Zapatista is definitely the place to go when you want to get out, but save money for vacation.

-JG

Rating: 3.5  Margaritas

Zapatista on Urbanspoon

4.02.2013

Spoonful

3413 Cahuenga Blvd W 
Los Angeles CA 90068 
323-512-4800

Parking: Parking lot that’s sometimes valet and sometimes free (yippee!!), also metered street parking 
Days: Daily 
Times: 4-6pm and 10pm-close 
Drink Deals: $2 off all drinks
Food Deals: $6 Appetizers

Daytime and Nightime Happy Hours!

Henry’s Hat is gone. Long live Spoonful! Or something like that since they don’t feel all that different… That’s not a bad thing as JG and I always loved the multi-space set-up at Henry’s Hat. Both bars feature cozy small group dining areas, a nice bar with high-top tables and plenty of hi-def televisions for your sporting needs, and Spoonful even has a very cute lounge that I would totally bring a book to read at (while sipping on a mint julep, but of course!). 

The decor has a "masculine Gone with the Wind vibe!"

The change came about when Henry’s Hat changed ownership – from Luna Park’s AJ Gilbert to Frank Foley. The latter shuttered Henry’s Hat, updated the décor with what’s described as a “masculine Gone with the Wind Vibe” (thanks EaterLA for the apropos description!) and created a new Southern cookin’ menu – both food & drank (think Fried Green Tomatoes, Braised Pork Belly and the aforementioned Mint Julep).

Nice natural lighting!

The Happy Hour menu is pretty swell – all appetizers are $6 (they’ll normally run you anywhere from $6-12) and all drinks are $2 off. I’d say the food deal is better with potential $6 savings, but I feel like the drinks are still a bit pricey with specialty cocktails still costing $10 (down from $12 during non-HH). That said, the $2 savings put wines in the $7-9 range and draft beers around $4. 

Plus, they’ve got a sh*t ton of bourbons and whiskeys that HH discounts $7-12. Not bad, y’all! Longtime Happy Hour Tour friend Booze and I popped in Spoonful after an afternoon shopping and seeing a movie at Universal City, ready to get our Happy Hour fill from the exciting menu. For vittles, we had:
 Feast for Southern Royalty  
(descriptions below - running counterclockwise from top left)

-- Buffalo Shrimp ($6, normally $12) – Fried plump Gulf shrimp tossed in buffalo sauce with celery root puree and house made Ranch dressing. I’d never had buffalo shrimp before; they were pretty tasty as was the celery root puree that I want to try to make myself!

-- Sweet Potato Fries (from the $5 side menus) – These bad boys were awesome and served with a little aioli with curry undertones? Definitely share-able! 

-- Fried Green Tomatoes ($6, normally $7) – Cornmeal crusted and served with a spicy remoulade and micro cilantro. No Southern-fried Happy Hour would be complete without fried green tomatoes and these didn’t disappoint! 

-- Dixieland Salad ($6, normally $7) – Field greens, red onions, fresh strawberries, slivered almonds and bleu cheese. We totes enjoyed this sharing size appetizer salad with the right mix of fruity and savory.

On the drinks end, Booze ordered a traditional sidecar ($10 during HH), which was traditionally strong, and notably served with a big ball of ice – all the better to melt slowly in your sidecar! I went for the Mannish Boy ($10 during HH), mainly because I liked the name (not really, though I don’t think Boyish Man would be that much better?), a summery cocktail featuring Hendricks Gin, St. Germain, Crispin Apple Cider, muddled cucumbers, and lime juice.

Mannish Boy and Old Fashioned ($10 each)

Given the high alcoholic content of our first round, we opted to share one last cocktail and got the dessert-like Texas Flood ($10 during HH), a Tanteo Cocoa Infused Tequila based martini/margarita cocktail. I dig cocoa-tequila, but could see where this might not be everyone’s cup of… tequila! 

We finished the night with another “Can’t Leave a Southern Restaurant Without Eating This” – Pecan Pie served with Bourbon-flavored ice cream. Soooooooo good! Sweeter than sweet, but delicious! And not on HH pricing, but only $8 - not too bad.

Pecan Pie ($8)

The HH menu is definitely Good for Dinner, though HH runs from 4-6 and after 10pm daily – so you’ll either be eating an early or late dinner. Let me recommend early so you can spend the evening digesting all the delicious bites!! 

Ain't that the truth? 
-- JB 

Rating: 4.5 Martinis

Spoonful on Urbanspoon

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